WWHIYP Out Loud

Sometimes we pray silently. God knows what we're thinking. He can answer silent prayers. 

But. . .

what would happen if you prayed out loud?

Listen to some of the phrases used for prayer:

Call to Me . . . Jeremiah 33:3

I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue. Psalm 66:17 NIV

. . . . You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. Genesis 16:11 NLT

When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; Numbers 20:16 NKJV

Give heed to the voice of my cry,

My King and my God,

For to You I will pray. Psalm 5:2 NKJV

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;

In the morning I will direct it to You,  …  Psalm 5:3 NKJV

Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. Psalm 55:17 NKJV

I cry aloud to the LORD . . . Psalm 142:1

And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? . . . Luke 18:7 NIV

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Matthew 6:7 NIV

Ok, I think I've made my point that prayer is vocal. Again, God can hear our silent prayers and our thoughts.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

   you perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:2 NIV

Whenever possible, prayer should be audible.

Praying out loud is biblical; that point was made above.

Praying out loud is humbling. If you have not prayed out loud, find out what would happen if you do. God is great and awesome. When we approach Him, our approach should be with humble hearts. For some people, it may be humbling to pray out loud. If you have never opened your mouth to pray, maybe pride or fear has stopped you. Decide that because it's God's will that you pray with your voice, you're going to pray out loud. God will honor your faith and obedience.  

God resists the proud,
      But gives grace to the humble. James 4:6b NKJV

Praying out loud can bring an emotional release. Sometimes your mouth is like a radiator cap; it can keep pressure in or can release pressure. One day my friend told me something that she had never said out loud—she had only thought about it. After she said it, she covered her mouth. When what she was thinking came through her lips, it caused her to laugh and she thought she wouldn't stop. Laughter was bottled up within that thought. She was surprised and I thought it was funny. When we voice our prayers to God, we can relieve ourselves of some of the pressure and emotion that comes with the situations we are praying about. You know how it feels when you say, "I'm glad I got that off my chest"? Tell God about it. He is ready to listen.

Praying out loud helps us stay focused. When I pray silently, my thoughts can and will wander. But when I pray out loud, I can't usually think of anything other than what I'm saying. I heard a preacher give an interesting example. Try this: Count silently. Now continue to count and say "hallelujah" and "thank You, Jesus." When you talk out loud, your counting was interrupted. When you pray out loud, your unfocused thoughts are interrupted and you can stay focused on talking to God.

Pray out loud with me:

Father, thank You that Your word gives me examples of how to pray. You not only show me how to pray, but You give promises that you hear me. God, Your are my help. So please help me to pray out loud. Help me to trust You and not be afraid to pray with my voice. At times, it is necessary to cry out to You. So where there is fear, please remove it. Where pride tries to stop me, I will humble myself. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I want to pray out loud because that's how You want me to pray. Thank You for meeting me where I am and helping me to grow. Thank You for increasing my prayer life and my communication with You. I love getting to know You better and it's all because Jesus has made the way. So I pray in His name. Amen.